


Legally Stiles

by redhoodedwolf



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Human, And angst, Fluff, Harvard Law School, Jackson Whittemore is a douchebag, Legally Blonde AU, Lydia is not a jerk in this she's true to character jsyk, M/M, NU DELTA, Peter Hale is a creep, Some hurt/comfort, brief moment of nonconsensual kissing but for lik 2.5 seconds, derek is adorable and precious, don't need to have seen either to enjoy this fic, everyone is either a lawer or working to becoem a lawyer, she's not like Warner just in his role, so this is a mix between the movie and the musical, you'll get the references if you have though
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-18
Updated: 2015-10-18
Packaged: 2018-04-26 21:17:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 15,393
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5020843
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/redhoodedwolf/pseuds/redhoodedwolf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stiles took a moment to think this over. If he got into Harvard, he could win Lydia back. He'd show her how smart he really was, and that he was willing to go that extra mile for her to win her love back.<br/>"Okay," he breathed, feeling a large weight settle on his shoulders. "Let's do it."<br/>Scott cheered. "Awesome, dude. Let's go make the LSATs your bitch."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Omigod You Guys

**Author's Note:**

> thanks to the wonderful lay-yourarmourdown on tumblr who asked: Okay I've always wanted a Sterek!legally blonde au where stiles or maybe derek follows a girl to Harvard and then kicks ass and falls in love with each other :)  
> it sparked a revolution in me so I literally wrote this in a day  
> I love Legally Blonde and it's always made me wonder what a sterek au would be like for it so now i made it and all is good
> 
> This one is dedicated to all of my followers and readers, I love you guys so much. You're so supportive of me and constantly make me feel good. Y'all are the best!!
> 
> EDIT: stilinskihaleworld on tumblr drew an AMAZING sketch of *SPOILER A BIT SORT OF* Stiles in his bunny costume and you can find that here: http://stilinskihaleworld.tumblr.com/post/132974445537/here-is-my-quick-sketch-of-stiles-in-his-bunny  
> MUCH THANKS!

            Stiles felt like his entire world had just fallen apart.

            "Stiles, I'm going to Harvard in the fall," Lydia reminded him, as if he hadn't been the one to celebrate with her after she'd gotten her early acceptance letter in the mail. "Your "tentative plans" after graduation are to move back to Beacon Hills. I'm going up vertically and you're just going horizontally. And never again shall the two meet."

            Stiles hated when Lydia used mathematic terms to explain her reasoning. Almost as much as he loved it.

            She patted his hand before leaning back in her chair. Stiles stared at the spot where she touched him and felt his throat tighten. He swallowed thickly. "Fine."

            Wanting to make a bit of a scene without disturbing the rest of the restaurant, Stiles pushed his chair back forcefully as he stood, the legs scraping across the floor viciously. He make his steps steady and quiet as he exited, and only stumbled when he heard Lydia sigh softly behind him and murmur, "Check, please."

            Stiles felt the heavy weight of the ring box in his pocket as he drove back to the house. He was relieved he'd told his brothers not to wait up for him, otherwise there would be a parade of fraternity brothers waiting to receive his shame. He pushed his way through the Nu Delta house door and went directly up to his room. Not even the sight of the golden plaque on his door declaring 'STILES STILINSKI PRESIDENT' could brighten his mood, and he slammed the door closed behind him.

            He didn't leave his room for three days. The only person he saw was his best friend and brother Scott, and only when he requested some pizza and beer or a refill on pizza and beer. Scott let Stiles have his little pity party for a couple of days, but once Stiles started missing class, he drew the line.

            Scott kicked open Stiles' door and declared, "That's it! Time's up. Time to get back to the world of the living. Look, I know it hurts and that Lydia--"

            Stiles groaned and rolled over in his bed.

            "Fine. She Who Shall Not Be Named broke your heart. And I know it hurts, I know, dude." And Scott _would_ know. Stiles knew all about Scott and Allison's forever love, and he also knew about the accident that happened sophomore year where, well, she didn't make it. So yeah, Scott knew about heart break, and that was the thought that had him feeling guilty for feeling bad.

            Scott clapped his hands. "Alright, so come on, time to re-enter the world." Scott tugged Stiles from his bed and pushed him down the steps and towards the kitchen. He sat the man down at the table before Stiles could get a protest in edgewise. "Time to start the day with a good hearty breakfast of bacon and eggs."

            "It's four in the afternoon."

            "Semantics." Scott started on the bacon after setting a glass of orange juice in front of Stiles' slumped body. "Dude, look, there's the morning newspaper." He pointed to the messily folded paper on the table. "Read it, catch up on current events. See proof that the world has not stopped spinning while you had your pity party."

            Stiles grumbled that it wasn't a pity party, but picked up the newspaper none the less, getting a smirk out of Scott.

            The smell of frying meat coaxed Isaac into the kitchen, and he was trying to convince Scott to make some breakfast for him as well when Stiles choking on his juice caught both of their attention.

            Stiles stared in horror down at the paper in his hands, and Scott came around behind him so he could read over his shoulder. "It's Lydia's sister," Stiles choked out. "Natalie Martin Jr. and her new fiancé, a graduate from Vanderbilt. He studied law..."

            Both Isaac and Scott recoiled back at Stiles suddenly sitting straight up and declaring, "This is it! This is the kind of person Lydia wants! Natalie went to Harvard, and so is Lydia. She's always talked about following the same path her older sister did. She wants to marry a law student. I gotta become a lawyer!"

            Scott's eyebrows flew up towards his hairline."Whoa, whoa, whoa, chill. You can't just _go_ to law school, Stiles. You're a Mythological Studies major, what good is that to a law degree? You know nothing about law."

            "Not true! My dad's a sheriff, you know that. I've had all the laws of Beacon Hills memorized since I was ten. I know it better than the majority of the cops. I could totally be a lawyer!"

            "You'd need to get at least a 174 on your LSATs," Isaac commented, and Scott and Stiles turned to stare at him. "What?" he asked, defensively, "My brother went to law school."

            "Dude!" Scott slapped Stiles' shoulder. "You could totally do that! Studying is your _bitch_ , bro. You could totally ace that test!"

            "There are no letter grades with the LSATs, McCall," Isaac murmured, and Scott flicked some egg at him in retaliation.

            Stiles stared down at the newspaper and Natalie's grinning face as she hung off the arm of a nicely suited flat-faced man. "Even if I did... the tuition's gotta be ridiculously high. There's no way I could work enough jobs during school, still do well enough to pass, and make ends meet. Even with my dad's salary, it won't be enough."

            "We'll help you bro," Scott consoled him. "We'll sign you up for a million scholarships and throw lots of fundraisers. We'll get the sororities involved, you know, do a car wash or some shit. We'd raise a ton of money! And it would all be for a good cause! You know how much everyone loves you, they all want you to succeed." Stiles opened his mouth to protest, but Scott added before he could, "And if you don't get accepted, we'll donate the money to charity."

            Stiles took a moment to think this over. If he got into Harvard, he could win Lydia back. He'd show her how smart he really was, and that he was willing to go that extra mile for her to win her love back.

            "Okay," he breathed, feeling a large weight settle on his shoulders. "Let's do it."

            Scott cheered while Isaac started eating the food off of Stiles' ignored plate. "Awesome, dude. Let's go make the LSATs your _bitch_."

*

_I know that I am not like your regular applicants hoping to be accepted into Harvard's graduate law program. I will be graduating from UCLA with a 4.0 GPA. I will have a bachelor's degree in Mythological Studies. I'm the president of my fraternity Nu Delta. I know that if you've read my transcript you know all of this already. I also know that none of that matters. What truly matters are the lengths I'm willing to go to get accepted into this prestigious university. I've worked very hard all of my life to get where I am. I never grew up with a lot of money, my family wasn't well off. My father is a Sheriff for a small town in northern California, and my mother died over 12 years ago. I am not telling you these details because I want to get in from pity, though I would accept any acceptance you would give me for any reason. But I hope the reason you accept me is because you see I have a lot of potential and a lot of courage. I want to attend Harvard University because I am in love. My love is attending your university come fall and I want to be with her when she does. It's time I put some effort forward to be serious in our relationship and show this wonderful woman that I am willing to go to the ends of the earth for her. I don't know what lawyers feel about love, but I know that my love is a soon-to-be lawyer and this is going to be her life. And, if you accept me, I'll get to be a part of that life too._


	2. Blood In The Water

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> all chapter titles are songs from the musical btw

            "Holy shit this campus is huge," Stiles murmured, and Prada, his white and brown papillion, barked his agreement from his seat on the passenger side of his Jeep (Lydia named the dog, okay, Stiles had no choice in the matter).

            The campus hadn't seemed quite as looming and terrifying this past summer when he'd done a tour. Of course, the looming sense of doom may be more geared towards starting fucking _law school_ in two days.

            Unpacking all of his things in his dorm went by in a blur, and he only was knocked out of the whirling mess of his thoughts at the wounded sound of Prada because Stiles had accidentally stepped on his foot. After apologizing profusely and coddling the dog for a good ten minutes, Stiles decided the room looked good enough to live in and he deserved to take a walk around campus. He leashed up Prada and went for a stroll.

            He stopped to chat with a couple of students, though most of them wanted to pet Prada. Some of them looked as lost as he did, and they were able to commiserate over the intensity of Harvard. However, every time he mentioned where he'd graduated from and what his degree was in, people tended to exit the conversation quickly. They probably thought he was a fluke and would drop out before the first month. Ha.

            Going on a walk gave Stiles time to find the buildings where his classes would be held, and think about Lydia. He wondered if she lived on campus. What if she lived in his building? What if she was on campus at that exact moment? What would he say to her? How would she react? Should he play it cool-- of course he should, Stiles reasoned. He was a law student now, he had to be dignified.

            The journey to becoming a law student was a tough one, and Stiles was still technically on it. Stiles spent all of his free time studying for the LSATs and talking to his advisor about applying. Scott was the greatest brother a man could ask for, researching tons of scholarships and hosting fundraisers out the wazzo. They made thousands of dollars, all for Stiles. It wasn't enough, but it was a dent, and any sized dent was mind-blowing to him. Stiles worked three jobs over the summer, starting before 6 AM and not coming home until 11 most nights. But he made money, so that helped. He set up a job at the library on campus, which was what he would spend the entirety of tomorrow doing, working as an assistant to the actual librarians. All that money went towards his tuition. He had to take out extra student loans, so that would be tough to deal with later, but if he became a lawyer, he'd have no problem paying off loans, right?

            His father had been worried at first, when Stiles first told him of his idea to get Lydia back. But his father knew more than anyone how much Stiles loved Lydia, and who was he to stand in the way of true love? Plus, he got the perks of declaring his son was studying at Harvard Law school. That was a treat enough for him.

            Stiles started work at 10 the next morning and worked until 5. It wasn't a tough job, but there was a lot to it. His work schedule was set to most days after class and all day on the weekends. He knew he needed time to study, but he worked in a library, he could do that at the same time, right? Plus, he needed the money.

            Waking up for class the next morning was rough, but after looking over at Prada sleeping in the bed Lydia bought for him, he knew it would be worth it.

            Stiles had dome some snooping the evening before and saw the Lydia was in one of his classes, taught by one Professor Hale, but that wasn't until the next day. So he didn't expect to see her as he carried himself towards Professor Morrell's class. But Lydia always did surprise him.

            When he turned the corner and saw her, he immediately froze in his tracks. Mind whirling, he thought back on his plan. _Chin up, eyes forward, don't make eye contact until she sees you_ , he repeated as he continued on his way down the hall. He'd just brushed past her shoulder, fingers crossed as he held his backpack strap, when he heard a surprised gasp and then, "Stiles?!"

            Stiles turned, cheering victoriously in his mind, and gave Lydia a shocked look. "Lydia? Oh my god, I forgot you go here."

            "What are you talking about?" She asked, eyebrows furrowing. "Are you here to see me?"

            Stiles rolled his eyes. "No, I'm here for class, just like you."

            Lydia's jaw dropped slightly open and her strawberry blonde hair fell nicely over her shoulder at the short movement. "You. Got into Harvard Law."

            Stiles smirked. "What, like it's hard?" he teased. Then, feigning a phone notification, he quickly looked at his phone and winced. "Ah, sorry, Lyds, gotta get to class. But let's meet up after, kay? Right outside? Good seeing you!"

            Stiles hustled away before she could say anything else and slipped into his classroom, an extra spring in his step as he chose his seat.

            Stiles didn't know what to expect of his first class in law school, but it wasn't _getting kicked out_ within the first ten minutes of class. And after such a good start to the day seeing Lydia. How was he supposed to know that there was assigned reading with an oral quiz on the first day? How was he supposed to know anything if the professor hadn't taught anything yet?!

            Stiles' stomped out of the building, cheeks flaming red. He threw his backpack onto an available bench and settled himself down beside it. He grumbled unkind things to Morrell under his breath until he heard a voice inquire, "Hey, are you okay?"

            Stiles' head shot up. Standing in front of him was a man, probably a few years older than him, with a scruffy beard and nicely pressed slacks. However, his shirt was wrinkled and his hair looked cutely disheveled, like he'd just rolled out of bed. The man arched an eyebrow and Stiles realized he'd taken a moment too long to respond.

            "Me?" Stiles squeaked. "I'm, well not fine. Pissed, actually, I just got kicked out of class."

            The man hummed and took a seat on the bench next to the one Stiles was on. He looked at the building Stiles had come from and guessed, "Morrell, right?"

            Stiles' jaw dropped. "Yeah. How did you know?"

            The man smiled a little. "She's tough. But fair. If you do the reading, she'll like you. But if you don't..."

            "I'll get kicked out again?"

            The man nodded. "Who else do you have?" he asked a second later.

            "Uh. Deaton, Hale, and Harris."

            The man smirked at the name 'Hale' but Stiles didn't know why. "Ask a lot of questions in Deaton's class, he likes that. But don't ask about really important things, just smaller details, because he lives to be frustratingly vague. Hale is intimidating, but will like you if you stand out, so sit in the front row. And Harris is a dick. So don't pay much attention to his insults. Sit in the back, stay silent, ace his tests, and you'll survive."

            A slow smile stretched across Stiles' lips, and the man must have realized how much he spoke because a soft rosy blush had snuck onto his cheeks. "Hey... thanks. You know, you're the first person to be nice to me today," Stiles confessed, leaning ever so closer towards the man.

            Their conversation seemed to have ended, but Stiles' didn't quite want to leave yet. Before he could say something else, the man spoke. "Maybe we could--"

            "Stiles."

            Stiles immediately stood to give Lydia his full and undivided attention. Realizing he was being rude, he turned back to the man and rushed, "Sorry, uh. Thanks for the help. I'll see you around!"

            Stiles lead Lydia away from the benches and the un-named man and over towards the shade of a yellowing tree. "Hey," he breathed once they were finally alone. "It's great to see you."

            Lydia looked... uncomfortable. Stiles stepped back to put some distance between them, hoping that would help relieve the look off of her face, but instead it turned to one of pity. "Stiles, we should talk. I--"

            "Hey babe." A guy who Stiles only vaguely recognized walked up to Lydia and swung an arm around her waist before pressing a kiss to her forehead. He glanced over at Stiles and gave him a once-over. "Who's this."

            "Jackson, be nice," Lydia demanded, and Stiles' heart stopped because if this was Jackson-- "This is Stiles. Stiles, Jackson."

            Jackson smirked and didn't offer his hand for a shake. Stiles didn't either. "So _you're_ Stiles. I've heard _so much_ about you."

            " _Jackson_ ," Lydia hissed, jabbing her elbow into Jackson's ribs. She turned back to Stiles, that pitying look back on her face. "Stiles, Jackson is my fiancé."

            Jackson lifted Lydia's left hand to his mouth and kissed the giant rock on her finger. Lydia gave him a soft smile that he reciprocated before dropping her hand. Stiles' couldn't keep his eyes off of that ring. It was much bigger than the one he'd bought.

            "Jackson and I reconnected after we-- anyway, we got back together this summer and we got engaged two weeks ago," Lydia explained. It made sense. Horrible sense, but sense none the less. Jackson was probably why they broke up in the first place, though he knew Lydia would never have cheated on him.

            Stiles remembered why Jackson looked so familiar to him now. He'd been in many photos with Lydia and her family on Facebook. Their families were very close. Stiles recalled that Lydia and Jackson had dated throughout high school and broke up when Lydia went off to UCLA and Jackson went somewhere in London.

            All of this past was staring Stiles right in the face and yet he couldn't comprehend any of it. "I'm sorry," he stuttered, eyes growing wide. "What did you just say?"

            Jackson's eyes narrowed. "She said _engaged_ , fratboy. To me."

            "Jackson," Lydia barked again. Her shoulders sagged, and defeat was not a good look on her. "I'll see you later, Stiles. It was nice to see you."

            Jackson pulled her away, and Stiles finally let the grief show on his face. He felt like he'd just gone through a cage match and lost, bloody and broken tossed to the side by Jackson _fucking_ Whittemore, son of one of the most well known lawyer families on the west coast. Lydia couldn't get more lawyer-y than him.

            Wholly defeated and with half a mind to drop out of school right then and there, Stiles turned back to the benches he and the man had been sitting at. The man was gone.


	3. Chip On My Shoulder

            "Holy fuck bro guess what I'm doing right now?!"

            Initially Stiles had called Scott to talk to him about his Lydia problem, but the sheer excitement in Scott's tone was enough to lift his spirits a little, so he figured the reveal could wait a little longer. "I don't know, what?"

            "Toasting to my mother fucking engagement!"

            A round of cheers rose up in the background of the call, so Stiles assumed Scott was at a party or bar. Stiles was really confused for a moment, but then the dots connected in his head.

            "Dude, you proposed to Kira?"

            "Nah, bro, she proposed to me! Got me a nice shiny ring and everything. I mean, I'm gonna buy her one too, so we can match. Man, I love her. Being engaged is awesome."

            Even though his heart was dying, Stiles was able to muster up a smile for his best friend. "That's great, dude. I'm so happy for you. I'm gonna be the best man, right?"

            "Of course!" Scott shouted, causing more cheers to erupt behind him. Stiles chuckled at the absurdity of it all. "Hey, so what about you? Gonna put you down for a plus one or not?" Stiles could practically hear his eyebrow waggles.

            Stiles swallowed thickly. "She's-- Not-- Haven't gotten the ring on her finger yet, Scotty."

            Scott laughed. "That's okay man, love takes time! Don't stress, _impress_."

            Huh. Drunk Scott had some wise words.

            "Will do, Scotty boy. I gotta get to bed, though. It's already 11 here and I have a class in the morning. Say hi and congrats to Kira for me."

            "Will do! And tell Lydia we say hi!"

            Stiles sighed. "Sure buddy. Night. Be safe."

            Scott's voice softened. "You too. Love you, bro."

            Stiles could feel tears stinging his eyes for some unknown reason. "Love you too man."

            After hanging up, Stiles slumped back against his bed. Prada jumped and curled up at the bottom of the bed, probably sensing his sadness. He always slept in his soft plush doggy bed unless Stiles was really stressed. He slept on his bed a lot last year after his and Lydia's break up.

            Stiles reached for his notebooks for each of his classes, and underneath the name of the class and professor that he'd penned in, he added the little pieces of advice given to him earlier in the day by the nice man who'd cheered him up. He didn't know how in handy they would come, but it was little to no effort to note it so why not. Under Harris' name he drew a funny caricature of a dick, so that improved his mood a little.

            He had Hale's class the next day, and Stiles was not looking forward to having a class with Lydia _and_ Jackson (which he immediately searched for and unfortunately found). He put off leaving his dorm for as long as he could before finally pulling himself out of bed and over to the hall where class was being held. He was able to snatch up one of the last first-row seats left and ignored the stare of death Jackson was giving the back of his head. He did his best to avoid Lydia's gaze, but she had always been good at knowing him. She'd caught his eye when he entered the room and gave him a friendly smile, but all it did was make Stiles more upset.

            Stiles was sure to check his email for assignments and do any required reading (or skimming) that needed to be done before this class, so he had a full page of notes, that he only half understood, full of legal terms he thought would be important to have a quick reminder of nearby.

            Right on time, a man probably in his late 30s/early 40s strutted in and set up at the desk in the front, and Stiles recognized from his profile on the school website that this was Professor Hale. Stiles was too busy cataloguing the man's social cues to take stock of the person closing the door.

            Once Hale had gotten his notes in hand, he addressed the class. "Hello, welcome to your nightmare otherwise known as Criminal Law. I am Professor Peter Hale. I graduated from this very university 13 years ago, and 12 years ago I started Hale & Associates which is the largest and most well known law firm on this side of the country. Over there is my nephew, Derek Hale. He is another associate at the firm and gracefully helps me out in class. You'll see him around campus doing my research." He gestured over towards the door where a very familiar man stood, a portfolio tucked under his arm. Derek had a more neutral face this morning, but nodded at the class when gestured to. His eyes swept over the room and settled on Stiles. A smile twitched at Derek's lips in recognition. Stiles mouthed a greeting at him and his small smile grew a centimeter wider.

            This entire exchange went unnoticed by Professor Hale who continued on, saying, "Because I have the unique position of running such a firm, by the end of the semester four of you will be given the opportunity to have an internship with Hale & Associates and assist us on cases. And if you work out, maybe after graduation I will hire you. But only the best and the brightest will be getting this special perk, so study hard and do well. As I expect nothing less from law students."

            Hale was terrifying, Derek was right. But the man did seem to be pleased with those sitting in the first few rows, starting his interrogating questions with students seated in the back. Surprisingly enough, Stiles got through the class only having to answer one question which he'd only stuttered a little bit on. He could practically feel Jackson's smirk. And he didn't get kicked out, which was a much higher improvement over the day before.

            Classes began to get a little bit easier after that. The workload increased, and Stiles got kicked out of Morrell's class at least once a week, but he was living with it. He may not be top of her class but damn it all if he doesn't at least pass.

            He reminded himself of Scott's words every morning. _Don't stress, impress_. He always showed up to Hale's class prepared, sometimes over-prepared, so that Lydia could see him being smart. He and Jackson got into it during class, arguing over whose point was more correct. There was obvious tension there that no one especially Lydia could miss, but she never did anything to stop the fighting. It was as if she liked Stiles fighting for her attention and proud gazes. It gave him hope.

            But the workload. It was insane. Stiles was seriously overerestimating how much he could get done during work, and often stayed up half the night trying to finish a paper due in six hours. But he pushed through, for Lydia.

            He and Derek got coffee every once and a while. It was nice to have him as a friend, someone to de-stress with who understood Stiles' complaints about his professors and was able to offer helpful advice. He even let Stiles complain about his uncle, saying, "He is my uncle, but he's also my coworker. And he has negative personality traits. I can't and don't want to argue over that because it's true."

            One evening, after getting back to his room after work, he'd opened his computer to review his essay for class the next morning and almost burst into tears as the words blurred on the page. He'd sent it to Derek with a message all in caps begging for him to read it and make sure it sounded human because he was far too exhausted to even try. An hour later, Stiles received an email from Derek telling him to calm down, the essay was good, and that he would bring Stiles coffee after class to cheer him up. Stiles almost declared worship to him.

            So maybe Derek was his only friend. Maybe he mostly spent time with Prada or in the library. Maybe he longed for Lydia's love and how life used to be in undergrad. He missed parties, and getting drunk and just laughing and having fun with his frat brothers. He missed his dad. He really missed his mom.

            Prada rarely slept on his bed anymore and it had become more of a place to put his toys when he was not playing with them.

            A couple months into the semester, Stiles was getting ready for bed when he heard the muffled sounds of doors opening and closing and people loudly talking in the hallway. The word 'party' piqued his interest, so he opened the door a crack to hear better.

            "So remember, bring your own drinks, okay? Saturday at the apartments on Elm."

            "Awesome. I can't wait for the party."

            "No way, someone's having a... party," Stiles burst from the room to confront the party inviter and found none other than Jackson Whittemore standing with his friend Danny who he shared Deaton's class with. Danny was nice, he didn't know why he hung out with Jackson.

            Jackson glared at him, but Danny actually replied, "Yeah, on Saturday at my apartment. You're welcome to come."

            Surprising Stiles even more, Jackson said in an actually not malicious voice, "You might not want to come, though. It's a costume party."

            Stiles figured it was close enough to Halloween to warrant a costume party, plus those were always the most fun. He ignored the way Danny was looking at Jackson oddly, probably because he was being civil with the guy who loved his fiancé. "I love costume parties, man."

            Jackson grinned. "Good. Then I guess we'll see you there."

            Jackson grabbed onto Danny's arm and pulled him down the hall. Stiles tuned out their whispered words and went back into his room. If Jackson was partially hosting this party, that would mean Lydia would definitely be there. This could totally be his chance to bring her back onto the Stiles Side. And Stiles had the perfect conversation starter.

            When Stiles had first pledged to Nu Delta, one of their "lazy hazin" ideas was to make the pledges dress up in the wildest costumes they could find. Lydia had helped Stiles pick out his, and they'd let him into the fraternity before he'd even entered the party.

            Saturday came too fast for Stiles. He got off of work at 6, so that was plenty of time to get some dinner (never drink on an empty stomach, kids) and squeeze into his costume before hoofing it to Danny's apartment.

            The brisk October air stung at Stiles' skin, but he kept a steady walking pace. He regretted not bringing a jacket, but he'd soon warm up from the alcohol anyway, so he wasn't too worried. Besides, Lydia was worth it.

            He was a little unsteady in his shoes, but heels were difficult to walk in no matter how much practice one has. Stiles had a surprising amount of practice, but he hadn't dressed up in high heels in over a year. His bunny ears kept falling down onto his face and he regretted not pinning the thing to his hair like he had when he was a freshman.

            Since being a freshman, his muscles have filled out more, but this mostly improved upon the costume. The white corset leotard equipped with a fluffy bunny tail on the butt was originally a woman's costume, but Lydia had found a plus-sized version and it had fit him just fine. His dick felt a little uncomfortable, but it was all in the name of love. Stiles was comfortable in his sexuality, he knew what he was about. Showing up in such an outlandish costume wasn't something to be embarrassed about.

            What was, however, was being the only one in costume.

            Jackson _fucking_ Whittemore.

            People stared as he walked into the apartment; many of them were dressed nicely and holding glasses of wine. This was what constituted as a party now? Man, he really missed undergrad.

            When Jackson spotted him, he spat out whatever drink he had been sipping on and laughed. "Wow, Stilinski, nice costume."

            Stiles cocked his hip and gave him a large grin. "I like your outfit too, Jackson. Except when I wear douchebag I try not to pull it off so well. People might start to think it's not a costume."

            Stiles pushed past the glaring man and looked around for Lydia. He found her in the kitchen pouring a glass of wine. She looked amazing in her bright green dress, and her eyes shined with mirth when she caught sight of him.

            "Stiles," she choked back a laugh, "What--?"

            "Apparently a 'dress up' party is not the same as a 'costume party'. I got a little confused," he replied. "It's okay, you can laugh. I know how much you love this costume."

            She grinned. "I really do, and you fill it out much nicer than you did four years ago." Her eyes roamed over his figure.

            "I'd only ever wear it for you, Lyds."

            Lydia's gaze turned wistful. "I miss UCLA. Sounds dumb, I'm at _Harvard_ , but everything was so easy back there."

            "Things don't have to be difficult," Stiles assured her, coming up to her side. Lydia leaned against him, resting her head on his bare shoulder.

            "Yes they do, Stiles," she murmured. "We're full blown adults now."

            "Well, yeah of course, but that doesn't mean everything had to change."

            Lydia looked up at him, perplexed, her green eyes boring into him intently like they hadn't in a year. He licked his lips nervously.

            "Just think, we could go back to being like we used to be. We could study together, become lawyers _together_. We could both get Hale's internship then _work_ together. How perfect would that be?"

            Lydia took a step back and gave Stiles a confused look. "Wait. Stiles... Do you really think you have a shot at that internship?"

            Stiles ducked his head. "Well, yeah."

            Lydia shook her head. "Stiles you give solid arguments in class, but you lack the grades on tests. Plus you don't put effort into any of your other classes. It's obvious, and Hale knows it too. You aren't anywhere close to the top four in the class, sweetie," she spoke, trying to break the news gently.

            Lydia reached a hand out towards him but he backed away from her touch, as if it burned. His gaze met hers and all he saw was pity.

            "I'm never going to be good enough for you, am I?" he wondered aloud.

            There was no need for Lydia to respond. Stiles turned on his heels and left, leaving the apartment and heading back to campus. The night had gotten even colder and Stiles just wanted to cry.

            A few minutes into walking, a black car pulled up alongside Stiles, and the man hastened his pace until he heard the familiar voice of Derek calling his name. He stopped in his steps, wiped under his eyes, and turned towards Derek.

            "Hey," he croaked, trying to muster a grin that turned out more like a grimace.

            Derek's eyes swept up and down his attire, and Stiles felt the need to cover himself up for the first time that evening. Stiles wondered what joke Derek was going to toss at him, and was surprised to hear him say, sounding deeply concerned, "My god you must be freezing. Get in the car, I'll take you back to your place."

            The call of heating was too tempting to Stiles and he didn't argue, opening the door and stepping into the passenger seat. He buckled himself in silently. He could feel Derek's eyes on him, and he looked over at him to see concern marring his features.

            "What happened?"

            Stiles bottom lip quivered. "Love."

            Derek blinked. "Excuse me?"

            "Instead of getting married and watching my beautiful wife succeed and do everything she always wanted to do, I'm flunking out of the majority of my classes, the love of my life is engaged to a douchebag and I'm not sure how much more of this I can take." Stiles' voice cracked.

            Derek's eyebrows crawled to his hairline. "You came to Harvard... for a girl?"

            Stiles scoffed and rubbed his eyes. "Sounds stupid, right?"

            "I guess," Derek conceded. "I'm just surprised is all."

            Stiles looked up at him. "Why are you surprised?"

            "You're so passionate in class. You're always raising arguments, even with students other than Whittemore, and you even challenge Peter sometimes. You seem so committed to you studies that I find it very hard to believe you care nothing about law school and are only here to win back your ex-girlfriend."

            Stiles was shocked into silence. The sound of the heater blasting his skin with warm air was the white noise he needed to think. A minute later, he blurted out, "I... like studying law?"

            Derek chuckled. "Was that a question?"

            "I like studying law. Derek. _Derek_ holy fucking god I like studying law!" Stiles was practically shouting at his point, and a huge grin broke across his face. Derek laughed at his reaction as he pulled into the parking lot of Stiles' dorm. "Don't laugh at me, I'm seriously just realizing this!"

            "Stiles, I think you've always been fascinated with it. I think it's time that you stop seeing Ms. Martin as what you assume is an end goal, but who is really a road block."

            Stiles looked at Derek in amazement. "You're right. This whole time I've been freaking out over what she thought, how she liked my arguments in class, and I never realized that _I_ fucking made the arguments! I did that! For _me_!"

            "You're a good law student, Stiles," Derek said sincerely.

            "Thank you for this, Derek. I was honestly about to call my dad and tell him I was quitting. You've really... thanks."

            Derek blushed and Stiles found it adorable. "Anytime. How about we get coffee tomorrow and I can help you catch up on the classes you've fallen behind in."

            Stiles groaned, resting his head back against the headrest. The bunny ears flopped into his eyes again and he tore them off. "I can't, I have work."

            "You also need to cut back on your work hours," Derek spoke, voice gentle. "I know tuition money is important, but so is your health."

            Stiles stared at Derek, genuinely touched that he cared so much. "I'll talk to my boss about it," he promised. "But how about coffee on Monday? Maybe a afternoon cup then dinner later?"

            Derek gave him a genuine Derek Hale Smile, and it made Stiles' insides warm. "Sounds good."

            Stiles hopped out of the car and shut the door behind him. Before he could walk away, the window rolled down and Derek said, "Hey Stiles?"

            "Yeah?"

            "You think I could pull off that costume?"

            Stiles chuckled. "No way, big guy. Only I can look as fabulous in these heels." In a moment of courage, he leaned through the window and pushed the bunny ears onto Derek's head and grinned at the end result. "There, that's all you need. Your bunny teeth do the rest."

            Derek slapped at Stiles as he pulled himself out of the window, laughing. "Get out of here," Derek demanded, though he was laughing too.

            Stiles fell asleep still smiling, and Prada slept in his puppy bed.


	4. So Much Better

            For the next several months, Stiles studied harder than he ever had before. He made law school his bitch, as Scott would say.

            Derek was great at helping him formulate thoughts into words, and though he wouldn't ever give him the answers (no matter how much he begged and pleaded on sleepless nights) he would lead him in the right direction.

            Peter started watching him in class and asking more thought provoking questions, and he never got kicked out of Morrell's class. He'd even gotten Deaton to take a shining to him, often helping the professor around the library for research purposes.

            He didn't get along well with Harris, but Harris was a dick, so that didn't matter.

            He talked to his dad more, called at least one every two weeks. He helped Scott with wedding plans, and even helped Isaac when he was writing his grad school application essays. He got frequent emails from other members of Nu Delta and skyped with the house every month or so. His President plaque hung proudly above his bed, and he always made sure to have it displayed during those talks.

            Stiles barely spared Lydia a second glance. Ever since the party, she'd tried to approach him a couple times, but he never gave her the chance. A part of him was vindictively happy about it; let _her_ feel what it's like to chase him for a change. But normally he was just sad. He still loved her, he knew he probably always would, but he had to admit that she and Jackson worked well together.

            Stiles never found out who it was, Lydia never said anything, but he assumed it was her who left the little dog-safe chocolate cake outside of his room on Prada's birthday. She was the only one who knew the date. Prada enjoyed it a lot, obviously, and became much more of an attention whore now that he knew such delicious treats existed ant that Stiles could supply them.

            He did end up cutting down on his hours at work like Derek suggested. When he told his father he wouldn't be making as much money and the reason why, his father was only concerned for his son's health, and it reminded Stiles that he loved his father a lot, and then drilled him on his healthy eating habits.

            His mother's deathday passed without incident. Stiles invited Derek over to watch movies and skip class. Derek brought him coffee and cuddled with Prada. It was the only class he'd ever skipped of Morrell's, but she was very understanding, and it made Stiles realized that lawyers were humans with emotions too.

            Except for maybe Peter Hale. Peter Hale was a different breed of lawyer overall. Maybe that's why he had the most well known law firm on this side of the US.

            Stiles had almost forgotten about the internship opportunity up until the day Professor Hale was actually late to class. Derek was there, and he'd simply shrugged his shoulder when Stiles gave him a questioning look. Ten minutes later, the door slammed open and Hale strode in with heavy steps and held up a single sheet of paper.

            "My firm has just gotten a very important case, so congratulations to the winners of the Hale & Associates internship, your new lives start today. Everyone else, welcome to the middle. Class dismissed."

            The entire room scrambled to the front where Peter had taped the list up onto the board. Stiles hung back, more interested in hearing what Peter was saying to Derek.

            "Derek, I want to make you my partner on this one. Do good, and maybe I'll have to change the name to Hale, Hale & Associates."

            Derek was very good at hiding his enthusiasm. He pursed his lips together to stifle the smile and nodded at is uncle. The man patted his shoulder and then left the room.

            Stiles practically jumped at Derek and hugged him tightly. "Congratulations! I'm so proud of you!"

            Derek couldn't contain his smile any longer. He laughed, happily, and hugged Stiles back. "Thank you. I just... I've been working so hard for this, ever since--" Derek cut himself off, but Stiles nodded, understanding.

            "I know. We'll celebrate later. First let's see which stuck-up students you'll be working with, eh?" he teased, eyebrows waggling.

            Most of the class had dispersed, leaving only a few surrounding the board. Lydia and Jackson were lost in an embrace, and Stiles assumed they either both got in or at least one of them did. Either way, he found himself oddly happy for them.

            "Stiles."

            Stiles looked up at Derek, who had wide eyes and was pointing at the paper.

            Stiles squinted his eyes, trying to read it from such a far distance, but it wasn't until he got closer that he could make out 'Stiles Stilinski' in tiny font at the bottom of the list.

            Stiles blinked. Then blinked again. "Pinch me," he demanded of Derek. Derek obliged. "Ow! Fuck. Okay. Yep. Still says my name. Holy shit, Derek, I'm one of the stuck-up students you'll be working with!"  
            Derek cheered and he was the one to pull Stiles into a hug. "I told you you could do it!"

            "You did! And you helped me get here." Stiles pulled back from the hug a little, arms still wrapped around Derek, and he breathed, "Thank you."

            They stared at each other for a moment before Derek broke their gaze and ducked his head, rubbing the back of his neck. "Well, I guarantee Peter is going to have me sending out the schedule for this as soon as possible so I better get to work. I'll see you tomorrow?"

            He grinned. "Tomorrow."

            Stiles watched Derek exit the room and his eyes fell on Lydia and Jackson who were just coming out of a kiss. Glancing back at the list, he noticed both of them and a girl named Erica Reyes were selected. With a pulse of confidence burning through his veins, Stiles turned towards the couple and smirked. "Hey Lydia? Remember that year where we spent the entirety of my birthday in your hot tub, and we didn't get out for like, god _four hours_. Do you remember how amazing that day was?" Lydia, shocked that Stiles was addressing her and for bring up such a remarkable moment in their relationship nodded dumbly. Stiles threw his hand out and pointed at the list. "This is so much better than that!"

            Stiles flounced out of the room, but not before he heard Jackson hiss, "Four hours?!" Stiles couldn't help but cackle in glee.

*

_"Why did you decide to go to law school?" Stiles asked Derek, sipping at his chilling coffee._

_Derek's hand stilled where it had been petting Prada's fur, and the canine yipped in irritation, so the man smiled down at him and continued stroking. He looked over at Stiles, and Stiles could read that this was a tough subject for him to talk about. "You don't have to tell me."_

_"It's okay," Derek replied, voice soft. Stiles subtly turned down the volume on the random movie playing on the TV so he could take in every word Derek was willing to tell him. "My family died when I was 16. My house burned down while me and my sisters were at school. There were 11 people inside the house. Peter was the only one who got out alive. It had been a family reunion."_

_"Shit, Derek," Stiles breathed. He set his coffee aside so he could scoot closer to Derek._

_"Peter moved Laura, Cora, and I to New York. Laura was 19 by that point, so she transferred to NYU. Cora and I finished up school. Peter came back here, for his firm. He'd helped Laura set up the foundations she would need to help us get through school, and he'd wire us money every month, but it wasn't the same, not even close. Laura and Cora are still in New York. Cora's finishing up her senior year of undergrad. Laura works with underprivileged youth. Once I graduated from NYU, I applied to Harvard because Peter had always brought me up to follow him. All I ever wanted to do when I was little was to learn the law like Uncle Peter. And then to be a real lawyer like Uncle Peter. My parents were so supportive. And after the fire, it felt like... if I would ever choose any other profession, I would be disappointing the them that I could remember. I like being a lawyer and working with Peter is... not my favorite, but he's my family. I've always wanted to go back to New York, work to fight for the rights of the kids Laura works with. I'd get to see them all the time. I only see them a couple of time a year."_

_Stiles had paused the movie at this point. His eyes were welling up with tears. Derek looked stoic, though, as if he told this story all the time. The set of his shoulders told Stiles he hadn't._

_"So I went to law school because Peter asked me to, because I wanted to, and because I knew that if I did, I could help out people and kids that have gone through bad situations like I did. The... The house fire was arson. Some crazy bitch decided to burn my entire family alive for kicks. Her lawyer argued insanity, but Peter was the one on our case. He shot them down with evidence that placed her in jail rather than a mental hospital. That case is the one that put him on the map. All that needed to happen was the destruction of everything I held near and dear."_

_"Your parents would be really proud of you, Derek Hale."_

_Derek pursed his lips. "I hope so."_

_Stiles rested his hand on top of Derek's as they laid clenched in his lap, and broke them apart to twine their fingers together. He squeezed his hand gently. "You want to watch the movie now?"_

_Prada wiggled his way underneath Derek's free hand, and he'd begun petting him once more. Stiles took that as his cue to un-pause the movie. He never took his hand out of Derek's._


	5. Take It Like A Man

            Peter sat at the head of the table, while Stiles, Derek, and the other inters sat on either side of him. The Professor slapped down a folder in front of himself and opened it with a flourished flick of the wrist."The client is Ethan Veer. He has been accused of murdering his father, Deucalion. He was found standing next to his body, covered in his blood, by Kali, Deucalion's wife."

            "How was he killed?" Reyes asked, pen in hand. She looked ever so like the studious classmate he'd seen around before.

            "Gunshot, at close range. No signs of a struggle."

            "That proves that Deucalion knew the shooter, if he didn't engage in a fight?" Jackson suggested.

            "Deucalion was also blind."

            The entire table let out an 'oooh' of understanding.

            "What does Veer do?" Lydia asked.

            "Originally from the LA area, being held here in Boston. Seems to have a large empire in... bodybuilding."

            Stiles eyes widened in recognition. "Wait, is he a UCLA alum?"

            Peter consulted the file again and nodded. "Yes, graduated--"

            "Four years ago, yeah! He was the president of Nu Delta! I mean, I was never in the frat at the same time as him, but he would visit all the time during my freshman year. He's a nice guy. Yeah, he started out doing YouTube videos and now he owns like a hundred gyms across the country. He does workout videos too, the guys is amazing. My best buddy Scott gained major muscle because of him!"

            The entire room stared at him. He snapped his mouth shut.

            "As nice as it is to know he's a "cool guy", this does not excuse him for murder. It is very likely he is the one who did it," Peter explained to him.

            "He's pleading innocent, right?" Stiles pushed.

            "Yes," Lydia replied, "but--"

            "Then he's innocent! We can't take on a client to defend his innocence but believe he isn't! We have to find cold hard facts to back up how he's innocent. Who else was home during the time of the murder?"

            Derek was the one to answer this time, saving Stiles. "No one. Ethan stated that he was coming through the front door when he heard the gunshot. He found his father in the living room, checked for a pulse, and then called 911. In the middle of the call, Kali came home and that is how she found them."

            "Where was he before hand?" Erica asked.

            Peter pursed his lips. "We don't know, he won't tell us. An alibi would be able to solidify his innocence, but he's not willing to give it up." Peter thought for a moment, and the room filled with his thoughtful silence. "Derek, take a trip down to the jail and see of our client is any further loose lipped today. Maybe being surrounded by peers of his own age will make him feel more comfortable."

            That was as obvious a dismissal as any. Derek lead the parade of cars towards the jail, and they all had to show their identification to prove they were working for Hale & Associates before being let in to talk to Ethan.

            Ethan sat at the head of the table, much like Peter had at the office, but the orange jumpsuit washed him out. He looked terrible. Stiles settled two seats from him so he could watch him but not let it be too obvious."

            "Any new leads?" Ethan asked as soon as they'd all taken their seats.

            Derek gave him a small smile but shook his head. "Unfortunately no. We're here today hoping you could help us gather some, however."

            "Of course, anything."

            "We need an alibi."

            "Except for that."

            "Seriously?" Jackson burst out, catching Ethan's attention. "The single piece of evidence that could save you from lifetime in prison and you don't want to say it."

            Ethan glared. "I. Can't Tell You. It," he gritted out from between teeth.

            "Why?" Lydia asked, voice soft and curious.

            Ethan was slightly taken aback by her tone, Stiles could tell. "It's not something I can tell because it's not _for_ me to tell."

            Lydia nodded like she understood and that was a good enough reason, and Erica and Jackson stared at her for it.

            "I'm afraid if you can't tell us the alibi we're going to have to really work hard on your defense," Derek finally said.

            Ethan nodded. "That's why I hired you guys, you're the best."

            Once again they were dismissed, but Stiles held back a moment. They still had a couple minutes left allotted for the visitation and he wanted to talk to Ethan alone.

            As soon as Stiles was the only person standing, Ethan looked up at him curiously. "Do... do I know you?"

            Stiles grinned widely. "Yeah! Former Nu Delta fraternity president Stiles Stilinski." Stiles held out his hand, and Ethan was quick to stand and shake it, a smile spreading across his grim facial features.

            "That's right! You were a couple years behind me. You were the pledge in the female bunny costume!"  
            "Guilty," Stiles sung, making Ethan chuckle.

            "Wow, you're on my legal team?"

            Stiles waved his hand. "Sort of, yeah."

            "Thank goodness one of you understands me."

            Stiles' smile dimmed slightly at that. "I do understand you. And I understand the power of a secret. But, Ethan, this is something that could save you."

            Ethan's face dropped. "No, that's just it, it would ruin me. Me and my family."

            Stiles stared at him in confusion and Ethan's shoulders sagged. "Do you swear on Nu Delta never to tell anyone what I tell you?"

            Stiles nodded feverishly. "Yes, of course, unless you say I can. Nu Delta Fraternity brother bond forever."

            Ethan exhaled like the world just dropped off of his shoulders. He whispered, "I'm not alone. I have a twin, Aiden. My father kept him hidden for years, only showing one child to my mother, keeping him hidden away. He's... my dad was messed up, okay? But I loved him. It's just... keeping Aiden locked up like that had serious repercussions. He has anger issues and got into a lot of trouble a few years ago... my father thought he'd died. To the world, Aiden Veer is dead. But I have him safe at a long-term care facility under a different name. I visit him once a week. That's where I was. Stiles, you cannot tell anyone, Aiden's life is at stake."

            "Any brother of one of my brothers is a brother of mine. Of course I'll keep your secret," Stiles swore. "I know why you didn't want to tell anyone."

            "Time's up," a security officer spoke from the doorway and Stiles nodded at him.

            "Keep me safe, Stiles," Ethan pleaded as the officer took him away.

            "I will!" Stiles spoke with conviction.

            Derek was waiting for him outside once Stiles left the jail, and he gave him a curious look. "What took you so long?"

            Stiles shrugged. "Nothing, just catching him up on the Nu Delta news."

            Derek looked at him like he didn't believe a word he spoke, which was accurate, but still made Stiles glare at him for it. Finally, Derek dropped the look and sighed. "Okay, whatever. As long as you're being smart."

            "Oh please," Stiles shot back as he moved towards his own Jeep. "I'm a law student, I'm inherently smart."

            The next time Peter called the group together was for the interns to talk to Kali and get a feel for her, see if they could find something new off of her. They were using her as a witness, but she wasn't very good for much else then saying she didn't see Ethan with the gun shooting his father.

            The meeting with her didn't go as well or as bad as any of them thought it might. The only lead they got was that Kali dropped a name they hadn't heard before to include with her alibi. She had been out to lunch, which a restaurant confirmed of her whereabouts, but with Julia. Julia was never confirmed, though mostly because the name had never been mentioned before. In the police report, she was stated to have had lunch with a Jennifer Blake. Peter had Lydia and Erica looking up information in the case file of any other info to lead to this random Julia character. It could have just been a slip up, but Peter wasn't convinced.

            "Anyone get anywhere in regards to Veer's alibi?" Peter grumbled into a cup of coffee.

            Derek gave Stiles a significant look. Stiles argued back with his eyes, but Derek won with his eyebrows. Damn that man.

            "I got the alibi from him, professor," Stiles stated, and the entire room stared at him.

            Peter actually lit up, smiling. "Great! Then tell us."

            Stiles hesitated. "I can't."

            "You can't," Jackson repeated monotonously.

            "And why the hell not?" Peter growled.

            "Because I Nu Delta fraternity brother bond swore that I wouldn't tell anyone. But it's a good alibi, solid. He didn't kill his father."

            Lydia huffed and Stiles turned towards her. "Stiles, this isn't some dumb fraternity thing."

            "I know," Stiles agreed. "It's a big fraternity thing. I can't go back on this promise, but Ethan is innocent."

            "Are you serious?" Erica shrieked, surprising Stiles.

            "Stiles." Lydia once again caught Stiles' attention through the commotion. "Just tell Professor Hale what you know. Forget about Ethan. This internship is your life, Peter could do great things for your career if you give him the alibi."

            Stiles stared at her in shock. "So, what. You want me to compromise the client's trust in me?"

            "If that's what it takes to get the alibi and win the case then yes!"  
            "If we can't win this case without the alibi then we aren't very good lawyers."

            His statement brought silence to the room. Derek stared at him and Stiles looked back. Stiles couldn't read Derek's face and that scared him more than Peter's wrath.

            "Stiles, you're done for the day," Peter ordered, and Stiles nodded, expecting nothing less. "And Derek, you too. I told you to keep order with the interns. You're not winning any points today."

            The two left the room silently, and walked to the parking lot in silence, and all of it was starting to freak Stiles out. Finally he cracked as Derek was about to open his car door and leave.

            "Derek, please--"

            "You've got some nerve to stand up to everyone in that room," Derek interrupted him. Stiles dropped his head, ashamed. Until Derek continued. "And I'm impressed."

            Stiles looked up to see Derek smiling at him. "I'm glad that Ethan has one person on this legal team he can trust. He may never tell us the alibi and that's... not okay, but you're right. We can with this case without it, we just need some ingenuity."

            "I know we can win this one, Derek. We just need Kali to slip up a little more."

            "Why Kali?" Derek asked, head cocked to the side adorably.

            "She's untrustworthy. Did you see the icky color of her hair? Ugh. Also, she said she was at lunch with her friend Jennifer, not Julia. If your husband was murdered, you would remember every detail of that day, would you not? So why would one name be the change?"

            "The color of her hair?" Derek inquired.

            Stiles huffed. "That's what you got from all that?"

            Derek shrugged. "Maybe. I'll look into it, search around for Julia's associated with Jennifer's. I'll look into her some more too. You're good at this, Stiles. Don't worry."

            "Oh, I haven't given up yet."

            "Good." Derek look at him, eyes intense. "Because a world without a Stiles is a world I don't want to be in."

            Stiles rode that wave of happiness all the way home.


	6. There! Right There!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning for noncon kiss at the end

            Once the trial started, it was intense.

            It seemed like news crews and reporters were everywhere in the courthouse and Stiles could hardly escape them. Peter had barely given him a second glance since Stiles' betrayal by alibi last week, but it didn't hurt him. It just gave him more of a chance to look into Kali. However, it wasn't until he did some background research on her past, plus the questionings when the prosecution put her on the stand, that his hypothesis fully formed.

            Stiles knew nothing about the lawyer against them and didn't care to know. They were good enough, asked solid questions, but it was the witness that Stiles was more interested in.

            "It is obvious why I know it was his son that killed him." Kali spoke her words carefully, not saying anything accusatory that wasn't a fact but also putting her true thoughts out there.

            "And why do you think so?"

            "Duke and I were discussing his will a month or so before he passed. Originally in the will, all possessions would fall to Ethan. But Duke wanted to change it and make sure I got a fair share. I suppose Ethan got wind of it and decided to off him before the changes could be made."

            "Objection! That's speculation!" Peter shouted.

            Kali overpowered him. "Too bad the will was changed before my husband was killed, now he's gone for nothing!" The woman burst into tears, and Stiles flinched back at the display. It was far too outlandish and dramatic. Peter was shouting about her words being speculation and should thus be struck from the record. The judge agreed and then called for a recess.

            Everyone on Peter's team turned to stare at Ethan and the man flinched away. "I didn't know anything about my father's will, I didn't care! I don't need his money, I make it fine on my own."

            "This is true," Derek spoke, to try and take some attention off of Ethan.

            "I'm going to get a drink," Stiles murmured to Derek and the man waved him off.

            Stiles' actually just needed a moment to think. Kali had been saying things to make it seem like Ethan was greedy for his father's money. But in the same breath, she admitted to also being greedy for his money. Sure maybe Duke wanted to change the will, but as soon as he did and Kali got what she wanted she offed him? But why? She had money on her own, not a ton, but a sizeable living for herself.

            Unless she wasn't by herself, Stiles realized. Looking into Kali's past, Stiles discovered she'd never been married to anyone, but she had a long-standing partnership with a woman named Julia Baccari. All accounts state that Baccari disappeared six years ago, five months before Kali married Deucalion. If Stiles could get Kali on the stand to admit she was still in a relationship with the 'Julia' character, then that would open a whole new door!

            Stiles rushed back into the courtroom and whisper-shouted towards the team, "Kali is gay! Or, a lesbian. Whatever. She has a girlfriend named Julia. Don't ask me how I know, it's a developing theory, but just get her to admit Julia is her girlfriend and the jury will do the rest. We need to get people on Ethan's side and off of hers."

            "I _have_ seen wrappers for dental dams in her bathroom," Ethan commented with a dramatic shudder.

            Stiles flung his arms around, wordlessly saying, "See?!"

            Peter huffed indignantly. "I can't just go accusing people of being gay. If we're wrong, we'll look desperate and homophobic. That's not a chance I'm willing to take, your "developing theory"."

            "I hear the air quotes there."

            Peter glared Stiles back into his seat. Stiles looked over desperately at Derek who hesitated for a moment before nodding, whispering, "I'll take care of it."

            The recess ended a moment later, and it was Peter's turn to speak to Kali.

            "So, Ms. Veer, on the day of your husband's murder, you came home to see what?"

            "Ethan standing over my dead husband's body drenched in his blood."

            The jury murmured, reacting to Kali's deadly tone used, but Peter quickly spoke over them, saying, "And did you see he was on the phone with 911 operators?"

            "I saw the phone in his hands but did not make that automatic connection."

            "So you have no evidence that Ethan shot your husband."

            Kali grit her teeth. "No"

            "No weapon was found in his hands or anywhere near him?"

            "No."

            "Your honor, I have no more questions."

            Peter walked back to his seat, but before he could even sit, or before the judge could get out the entire statement of dismissing the witness, Derek stood and projected, "I'd like to ask a few other questions, your honor."

            Peter stared at his nephew, looking almost betrayed, but Derek shook his head.

            "You may proceed," the judge allowed.

            Derek strolled casually over towards the witness stand. "What is your full name?"

            "Kali Veer."

            "Where were you the day your husband was murdered?"

            "At a restaurant."

            "What were you doing?"

            "Eating lunch."

            "Who with?"

            "A friend."

            "What was their name?"

            "Jennifer Blake."

            "Are you in a relationship with a woman named Julia?"

            "Yes. W--."

            "No further questions." Derek sauntered back to his seat, smirking, and Stiles was so elated he could have kissed him.

            As expected, the courtroom burst with noise, and the poor judge tried to rein in order. Kali look gob smacked and Stiles grinned right at her and mouthed, "We got you."

            With that definitive piece of evidence out there, the judge decided to reconvene the following day.

            Peter was smiling as they left the courthouse that day and invited the whole team back to his office for a celebratory drink. They passed around plastic glasses and a bottle of champagne, and they celebrated their mini win for the day.

            "To Derek, for cracking Kali and getting her to admit to an affair," Peter toasted tipping his glass towards his nephew, and then turning towards Stiles. "And to Stiles, who, though his methods are different, trusted his gut. And not only that but gained our client's trust by keeping the alibi. Cheers."

            "Cheers!" the group replied, and Derek and Stiles shared a looked over the rims of their champagne flutes.

            As the group began to disperse to finish up the last minute filings, Peter asked Stiles to stay back a minute. Derek promised he'd wait up for him, and Stiles shot him a grateful smile.

            Peter led Stiles over towards a pair of armchairs and they each took a seat. Peter looked at Stiles and gave him a once-over. "You have shown a lot of improvement over the last couple of months. In September I wasn't ready to call you a law student, but you are well on your way to being called a lawyer."

            Wow. "Thanks, Professor Hale. That really means a lot to me," Stiles replied sincerely.

            "Especially when it comes to our client, you have been nothing but attentive to how to exactly handle this case. That's a very special touch you have. I'd like to see you do more with it. Have you looked at summer internships yet?"

            Stiles was floored. Getting complimented left and right wasn't something that normally happened to him, and especially not from his professor/boss. "Uh, no, not really."

            Peter leaned forward in his chair, closer to Stiles. "It's very important for you to keep your options open, Stiles. You never know when an opportunity will come alone that you should snatch up. And you seem like a man who goes after what he wants."

            "I-- I suppose, but--" Stiles was cut off when Peter leaned over into his space and kissed him.

            Stiles immediately recoiled and slapped the man, standing and stepping away. "What the _fuck_ ," he spat.

            "I'm a man who knows what he wants." Peter stood as well, not looking sorry in the least.

            "Is this the whole reason you hired me? So you could get to feel special and fuck with the intern?!"

            Peter pursed his lips and his nostrils flared. "It was nice working with you Stiles. I thought you were smarter that this but apparently not. You can show yourself out."

            Stiles moved numbly out of the office and almost ran smack into Jackson who was standing right outside of the office door, leering at him, a nasty smirk on his face. Lydia was at his side, and Stiles refused to look at her. "Well hello. No wonder you got the internship, Stilinski. You really..." he scanned his eyes up and down Stiles' form slowly, and Stiles felt violated, "earned it."

            Tears stinging at his eyes, Stiles pushed past them and speed-walked down the hall and towards the front of the building.

            Derek was waiting for him by the front doors, grinning widely once he spotted Stiles. As soon as he was close enough to see the look on Stiles' face, he immediately looked concerned. "What is it?"

            "I'm sorry, I can't do this anymore."

            "Stiles, what are you talking about?"

            "Sorry I've let down everyone and fucked stuff up--" Stiles tugged at his hair.

            Derek was floundering. "Stiles, what, you didn't. You're the best thing about this case, I. I--"

            "Peter hit on me," Stiles rushed out in a sudden breath.

            Derek went still, scarily so. Like he was internally shaking with rage. "He what?"

            Stiles swallowed thickly and wiped at his mouth, trying to remove the stain, the memory, of Peter's lips on his. "He kissed me, and then he fired me. That's the only reason, he hired me, you know. He saw me as a hot piece of ass he could pay to hang off his arm, that's all I'd be good for."

            "No, Stiles no," Derek was quick to consol. "You're so much more than that, fuck, you're not that at all. You're an amazing student and lawyer. We'll fight this, I'll--"

            "There's nothing to do, Derek," Stiles insisted. "It's time I gave up on this silly dream of being anything more than a library worm."

            Pushing past Derek and leaving him behind, walking away, was the toughest thing Stiles felt he'd ever had to do. What was he thinking, trying to play lawyer. He couldn't save Ethan. He wasn't smart enough for this. He'd leave the lawyer-ing for the professionals.

            Stiles just wanted to go back home, chill with Scott and his dad, and let the world go back to the way it was before he decided to pretend he could be something more.


	7. Find My Way/Finale

            "So this is it? You're just giving up?"

            Of all the people to show up at his door, Lydia was not the person Stiles thought would be there. He stared at the mess of half full boxes around him and nodded, steeling his resolve. "Yep. I'm finally getting over you. You should be elated."

            "Stiles, does this make you happy?"

            Stiles paused and turned to stare at her. She was leaning against his door frame and Prada was yipping at her feet, like he hadn't seen her in years. _Oh wait_. "I got fired, Lydia. It doesn't matter what makes me happy. I'm done."

            "Have you officially withdrawn?"

            "What?"

            Lydia rolled her eyes. "Have you officially dropped out."

            "No? Not yet. But obviously soon, I'll have to."

            "You realize this isn't over, right? The case is still going on. Ethan needs you, he relies on you."

            "Well what the _fuck_ am I supposed to do about it, Lydia?!" Stiles screamed. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm not a fucking lawyer. I can't defend him. Besides, there is nothing else left. I'm all tapped out."

            "Stiles Stilinski don't you ever raise your voice at me again," she demanded, and Stiles ducked his head, remember exactly how he fell in love so easily with her. She reminded him of his mom.

            "Just... Julia doesn't exist. Then immediately Jennifer does. Coincidence? I think not. There, follow that and you'll be fine. Ethan will be fine."

            "If you leave, Derek is going to quit."

            Stiles eyes widened, head snapping up. "What? No. No he can't, this means too much to him. He wouldn't leave his family."

            "I think you underestimate how much you mean to him too. And Derek is a fucking great lawyer, he could get a job anywhere. The fact that that's not even something you're worried about proves you're concerned about him leaving his family. Even though his family practically molested you."

            "Don't remind me," Stiles grumbled.

            "Which proves just how much he cares about you too."

            Stiles squeezed his eyes shut. "Is there a point to this, Lydia?"

            She sighed, and bent down to pick up Prada into her arms. "My point is there is still a way for you to win that doesn't mean dropping out of law school and ruining your newest ambitious dream which I know you hate doing."

            "What if I don't come with you right now?"

            "I'm taking Prada. You can come or not, but he is."

            Stiles whined, staring at his dog. Then he looked at Lydia's sincere face. "Alright. Fine. What's the plan?"

            Stiles didn't like the grin that broke out across her face; that grin meant trouble.

            After discussing everything with him, Stiles dug out a nice outfit from his boxes and hightailed it over to the courthouse. Lydia was for some reason keen on bringing Prada, which Stiles wouldn't argue over, but the rest of the court might. Maybe she considered it to be her only way of convincing Stiles to help.

            In her usual dramatic flair of a way, Lydia burst through the doors of the courtroom, calling everyone's attention to her as she entered. Stiles followed behind her, shoulders set back and looking as confident as he could pull off. Seeing Derek's relieved smiling face made all of the stress of the last 24 hours worth it.

            "Excuse you, you're in my way," Stiles told Peter, gesturing to his seat.

            Peter outright laughed. "Oh please, you're a law student. You can't defend a client."

            "I can so, it's in the rule book. I just need a licensed attorney to shadow me. And I have one of those." Stiles squeezed Derek's shoulder and the older man grinned up at him.

            Peter glared at all of them before turning towards Ethan. "Good luck in prison," he jeered before backing out of his seat and leaving the room all together.

            "Mr. Veer," the judge spoke, gaining Ethan's attention away from greeting Stiles with a wide grin, "You do know what you're doing, right?"

            "Absolutely," Ethan declared. His extra confidence towards Stiles helped, but it didn't make the prospect of this any less terrifying. He was now officially defending him. How had Lydia convinced him he was ready for this, again?

            "Court is now in session. Defense, call your witness," the judge demanded.

            Stiles cleared his throat and stood. "We would like to call Jennifer Blake to the stand."

            The brunette stood from her seat and approached the witness stand. She stared down Stiles with a calculative look, but her eyes spoke words of fire. She obviously didn't like Ethan or their legal team.

            After swearing on the bible to tell the truth so help her God, she took her seat and looked over expectantly at Stiles.

            "You may proceed," the judge stated, and Stiles suddenly felt nauseous.

            Steeling his reserve, he tried to appear as outwardly calm as possible. "Ms. Blake, on the day of Deucalion Veer's murder, you met Kali Veer for lunch, is this correct?"

            Jennifer leaned in towards the microphone, stained red lips practically touching it as she replied, "Yes, that is correct."

            "Did you have any idea that she was in a relationship with a woman named Julia?"

            Jennifer hesitated for enough seconds to be suspicious, but did answer, "No."

            "Kali never told you anything about her? Maybe some plans? Dates? Secret rendezvous? Nothing?" Stiles pushed, tilting his head to the side as if her was just curious.

            "I had no idea the relationship was going on," Jennifer spoke defiantly.

            "Interesting. Where did you go after lunch?"

            Surprised by the sudden shift in conversation, Jennifer stuttered, "Uh, I went home."

            Stiles raised an eyebrow. "Really? Are you sure?"

            Jennifer scowled. "Yes, I'm sure."

            The prosecution looked like they were about ready to jump in and ask about the reasoning behind all the questions, so he turned his back on the witness to consult the case file in his hands. He hummed, looking over the papers to hide the fact that his fingers were trembling. Stiles was out of questions, scrambling to come up with something. He looked up and caught Derek's eye. He was giving him an encouraging look, mouthing, "You can do this."

            Glancing back down at his notes, Stiles asked, "About how far is your home from Mrs. Veer's?"

            Jennifer leaned back in her seat and crossed her arms. "About a minute walk at most."

            Stiles' head shot up. "So if you left through the backdoor of the Veer's residence, you could be in your house within 60 seconds, is that what you are telling me?" He wondered aloud, looking back at the woman with renewed interest.

            Jennifer's eyes widened, like she realized she'd said something incriminating."Y-yes."

            The jury looked on curiously, and Stiles grinned at them. He tucked the case file underneath his arm."Alright people." He clapped his hands. "It's story time. See, police do a lot of work when it comes to murder cases, but they can't find _everything_. Trust me, I know. My dad is a sheriff, so I've heard him complain countless times about the single missing end to tie up a puzzle. "Once is an incidence, twice is a coincidence, three times is a pattern, Stiles," he would tell me. That's an important one to remember. Because see Ms. Blake here has slipped up twice too many times. Like those little loose ends police don't always find, we were missing one here. See, Jennifer was simply a name on the incident report, nothing to really look into if she's clean, which of course she is. Look at her? Innocent, perfect, beautiful. No wonder Kali loves you. Anyway--"

            "Is this relevant" the prosecution interjected,.

            "I have a point, I swear," Stiles promised, turning towards the judge.

            "Then make it," the judge demanded.

            "So, here's what really happened, Monk-style. Get me the black and white tones in here. _Hypothetically_. Jennifer here is in love with Kali. It's obvious. Anyway, when Kali dishes to her bff that she is _finally_ getting half of her husband's will, oh, she is _elated_ , and as the amazing best friend and lover you are, _hypothetically_ , you want her to be happy, you want her to be happy with _you_ , right?"

            "I--"

            "Right, so. You decide to- okay, _hypothetically_ you decide to kill off Duke. You know how long it takes for you to escape the Veer house because you've done it tons of times during your secret trysts with Kali, right? So hypothetically it's pretty simple for you to sneak into the house, and while poor blind Duke walks into the living room, you shoot him point blank, right between the eyes. You hear the front door close-- _hypothetically_ \-- and you don't have to panic because you have the perfect escape route, right?"

            "But--"

            "And you escape to your house, _hypothetically_ , and stash the gun there. By this point, Kali has arrived home from lunch with you, just a little bit behind schedule, she's probably  slower driver than you my dear master con-artist, so hypothetically you've had plenty of time to clean your hands and stash the gun before the police started asking you questions, right? You probably had days! I mean, they probably never even checked your house! I bet that you've been so careless, so excited about how great this trial has been going for you that you hypothetically put the gun in, like, your _bedside table_ or something typical where it's super easy to find. Isn't that right, Jennifer, or should I say _Julia_?!"

            "I just wanted us to live the way we used to!" Julia shouted back, standing up from her seat abruptly. "I wanted us to have enough money so we could run away and so we could be happy, Kali, baby, please."

            Looking over at Kali in the crowd, she looked like she was shocked. Stiles laughed. "Oh, Kali, don't look so shocked, you were hypothetically in on this too. Book 'em." Stiles demanded before dropping the case folder onto the ground with a loud smack sound, and throwing his arms into the air.

            The entire court was left in a state of shock. Julia was frozen where she stood, hunched over the witness stand, in shock that she'd just confessed to a crime. Kali tried to jump the seats and run, but the guards at the door caught her before she could. The judge was banging her gavel over and over, shouting for order. Derek stared at him like he was the most beautiful piece of artwork ever seen, and it made Stiles blush, and he grinned back at the man. Lydia was holding onto Prada so he didn't escape through all the madness and looked at him with a proud look on her face.

            Stiles' father had told him last summer that his greatest power was talking people to death. If you threw the word 'hypothetically' in there enough times, it couldn't be struck from the record because he never outright said anything untrue, so it could all be used. Stiles had decided that would be his last-minute move, but it had ended up working out for him well enough, going by the crazed state of the courtroom.

            After finally bringing some semblance of order to the room, the judge could finally close up the case. "Plaintiff, please take Ju-Jennifer Blake into custody where she will be charged with the murder of Deucalion Veer, and Kali Veer where she will be charged with accessory to murder. In the case of Veer vs. The State, Ethan Veer is found innocent of all charges. You are free to go sir, and we apologize."

            The entire Hale legal teen cheered as the officer on guard unlocked the cuffs around Ethan's wrists. The first thing he did was fold Stiles into a hug, and Stiles easily squeezed him back.

            "Thank you," Ethan whispered to him.

            "Of course, anytime," Stiles promised, pulling out of the hug to grin at him.

            The second person to rush to hug him was Derek. Stiles easily melted into his embrace and felt all of the tension leak out of his body. They did it. They won.

            Derek pulled back from the hug far enough that he could see Stiles, but they were still close enough that their noses almost brushed. Derek's gaze on him felt smoldering and Stiles wondered what was about to happen.

            Derek's eyes flickered over his shoulder before moving back to him, and the heat was gone. He stepped away from Stiles, and his arms fell back at his sides pathetically. Derek cleared his throat. "You, uh, have someone waiting for you."

            Stiles glanced over his shoulder to see Lydia grinning widely at him, Prada held naturally in her arms.

            Looking back at Derek, the man was even farther from his reach. "It's cool, I'll see you outside in a bit?"

            "I'll be right there," Stiles promised. Derek looked like he didn't quite believe him but nodded anyway and moved to follow the sea of people streaming out of the room.

            Stiles turned back to Lydia and raised an eyebrow. Lydia looked... she had that look of pity on her face again. She handed Prada back to him, and he took him without protest.

            Lydia seemed hesitant to speak. "Stiles... A year ago I did one of the dumbest things ever and dumped you. My reasoning behind it was stupid, and it wasn't until recently that I realized. I got back together with Jackson and it was all so natural and easy that I didn't even think about how this had all effected you. Stiles I love you, and I always will, but..." she looked down at her ring and fiddled with it. "I'm in love with Jackson. I have been since I was 15 and that history that we have isn't something that can be ignored. And I know he's an ass, but he loves me too, and he really cares about me. He doesn't show it to anyone but me but he's... he's what I need."

            Stiles nodded. "I know." Lydia looked surprised. "Look, a year ago, I would have done anything to get you back. I _did_ do anything to get you back. I came here with these hopes of winning you back and getting married with our fresh law degrees. But now... even if you had left Jackson for me, my answer would be no. I've just started finding myself at this place and I'm certainly not done now. I never knew I could be more than just some random dude from Beacon Hills, California. So I guess I kind of owe it all to you. I thought loosing you was something I'd never get over. But just look how far I've come without anyone by my side. Lydia, the day you broke my heart you handed me the chance to make a brand new start. You helped me find my way. And there's still so much further for me to go. And even if I fail, fuck it, I'm here and I'm not leaving. I'm gonna find my way, and it won't be with you at my side. And I've accepted this. I just hope we can be friends."

            Lydia gave him a watery smile and sniffled. "Of course, Stiles."

            Resting Prada at their feet, he pulled Lydia into a hug and let her disguise her tears against his shoulder.

            Stiles pulled back after a minute and took a hold of Prada once more. He glanced towards the open doors of the now (other than them) empty court room and thought about Derek waiting right outside for him.

            "I think we're gonna be just fine," Stiles decided.

*

TWO YEARS LATER

            "Ladies and gentleman, I present the newest graduate class of Harvard Law School!" Morrell started. After the round of applause died down, she continued. "I am very proud to now introduce to you this year's class-elected speaker. After getting off to a... very interesting start here at Harvard, he graduates today with an offer to join one of New York's most prestigious law firms. I know that we are going to see great things from him. Ladies and gentlemen, Stiles Stilinski."

            Applause filled the room as Stiles took the stage, shaking hands with Morrell before stepping up to the mic, a humbled smile tilting his lips. "I would like to thank everyone here today. Without you, I would not be here. To those who thought I'd fail, to the ones who taught me how to fail, to those who taught me how to persevere through, I am standing here because you helped my find my way. Over my three years here at Harvard I have come to find that a key element to the study and practice of law and life is passion. It is with passion, courage of conviction, and a strong sense of self that we take our next steps into the world knowing that our first impressions are not always correct, you must always have faith in people, and most importantly you must always have faith in yourself. Congratulations guys. We did it!"

            A loud cheer rose up from the graduates, and many caps flew into the air. Stiles grinned, gaze casting over the crowd. He caught Derek's proud gaze, and he startled so suddenly that his cap smacked into the microphone, creating feedback that echoed through the entire room. "Oh! And one last thing, if you'll let me--"

            Stiles stumbled his way down the stage and over to Derek. Derek looked insanely embarrassed to be at the center of attention of all of these people, but once Stiles reached him and took his hands, his gaze snapped to his boyfriend's.

            Stiles grinned widely at him before slowly getting down onto bended knee. The crowd tittered with noise, but Stiles zoned it all out, focusing instead on the slight widening of Derek's eyes and his slack jaw. "Derek Hale, please make me the happiest man I know," Stiles requested, pulling out a velvet box from his pocket hidden beneath his robe and opening it, ring towards Derek. It was a simple silver band with a few small diamonds encrusted within it. Stiles knew the exact placement of each of these jewels because he'd stared at the ring for so many nights in the past five months since he bought it.

            "Oh my god," Derek murmured, shocked. He probably thought he'd get to be the one to propose to Stiles, but nope. Stiles was taking the initiative with this one. "Of course I'll marry you, yes," Derek breathed, and Stiles leaped up from the floor and crushed Derek in a hug. He pulled back only slightly so that he could press their lips together instead.

            The crowd around them was probably cheering, and Stiles knew that somewhere his dad was probably wiping away tears, wishing Claudia had been here to see their baby boy grow up. He knew that Lydia was somewhere, probably being stoic and not crying even if she wanted to, with Jackson at her side as he contemplated how to talk to his wife about becoming part of the Whittemore & Whittemore team, adding a Martin in there, because of course Lydia kept her last name. He knew that Erica Reyes was somewhere holding hands with Vernon Boyd, another recent graduate, and that they were going to create a practice together focusing on family law. He knew that probably in some dark corner was Peter Hale, begrudgingly clapping, as he was still bitter and alone. He knew that Scott and Kira were texting him at that very second, wanting updates on how the proposal went and if they would be married before or after Kira had her baby.

            But none of them mattered in that one moment, that one perfect minute with Derek in his arms, his warm lips pressed against Stiles', and the utter excitement of the day making their bodies sing. Stiles broke the kiss only to pepper more all over Derek's face as he took hold of Derek's left hand and slipped the ring around his fourth finger. He bent down to kiss that hand too before moving back to Derek's face, cupping it gently, reverently.

            "I love you, so much. But you realize that as soon as we get home, I'm going to be giving you the ring I bought to propose to you tonight," Derek spoke, voice soft, just for them, and Stiles could feel the way the words formed against his lips, and reverberated through his chest, at how close their bodies were.

            Stiles simply grinned and pulled the older man into another passionate kiss, muffling his words. "I wouldn't expect anything less. And I love you too, oh my _god_."

**Author's Note:**

> You can find more of this insanity on my tumblr at redhoodedwolf


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